My journey from Brooklyn, New York January 4, 2007 to the World Cup Final match July 11, 2010 in South Africa. How will I get there? I have no idea. Join me as I travel around Africa, write a book, make some friends and watch the beautiful game!

Friday, April 26, 2013

Brazil look increasingly unlikely to win the World Cup on
home soil next summer after another disappointing performance on Wednesday
resulted in the squad being booed by their own supporters.

A Brazil squad comprised of domestic-based players met Chile
in a friendly on Wednesday night to celebrate the re-opening of the Mineirao
Stadium in Belo Horizonte, but their performance on the pitch was far from
satisfactory.

An estimated 53,000 spectators filled the stands yet were
left unsatisfied almost immediately when Chile’s Marc Gonzalez knocked in a
rebound from close range to give the away side the lead on eight minutes.

Despite Brazil taking the lead in the second half through
young superstar, Neymar, the overall team performance was less than
satisfactory and Eduardo Vargas’ wonderful effort from distance earned Chile a
draw and gave Brazil boss, Luis Felipe, Scolari another headache.

The boos that rang out across the stadium at full time are
unlikely to disappear unless Brazil start winning games and sadly they have
found this hard to come by, much like England, who need more home wins.

Because they will host the 2014 World Cup, they do not need
to qualify for the tournament, meaning for the past two years they haven’t
played a competitive match.

Friendlies, sadly, still account for your FIFA ranking and,
with two defeats and four draws from their past seven games, Brazil find
themselves at a record low 19th place.

Of course, the ranking system is skewed by the fact Brazil
are playing friendlies and therefore the desire to win is not so great – while
all opposing teams want to beat the Samba Boys – yet there is nevertheless a
growing discontent in the country regarding the team’s performances.

Scolari is pressured with managing the expectations of a
nation ahead of the World Cup and nothing but victory will satisfy the Brazil
fans. It is a tough ask and not one many Betfair football pundits think he can
achieve, for the team are struggling simply to eke out meaningless wins a year
before the finals.